James Anderson - If you got the time The Naturals - Me and my Brother Maurice & the Radiants - Baby You've Got It Jan Bradley - Mama Didn't Lie Justine Washington - Who's Going To Take Care Of Me The Constellations - In Love Forever Sweettarts - So Many Times Billy English - I Got Over Ricky Allen - Cut You A-Loose The Raptures - This World Is Lost

That I know, I typed that much so far LOL what I want to know is a little bit more about her and the other artist mentioned as it relates to these tunes??

Thanks for the reply!!

mike s (mike_s)5-DoyenUsername: mike_s

Post Number: 202Registered: 4-2004Posted From: 195.93.33.7

Posted on Monday, October 04, 2004 - 5:54 am: ��

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The Radiants track was on Chess...sold quite well..in the mid 60s. Just after Voice Your Choice, I think. Are you sure it was the Sweettarts and not the Sweethearts?

Iris Smith (hellostranger)2-DebutantUsername: hellostranger

Post Number: 13Registered: 9-2004Posted From: 68.76.87.24

Posted on Monday, October 04, 2004 - 6:46 am: ��

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I can speak on The Radiants. Along with '"Voice your Choice" they recorded "Ain't no Big thing, Feel Kinda bad' Dag I lost the rest (mental relaspe), they were a Chi-town group I believe. pretty popular here in Cleveland. Little known music history, the drummer for The Radiants was none other then Maurice White!

...one of my very favorites, though "Who's Going To Take Care Of Me" does not really represent her well, IMO. Try "That's How Heartaches Are Made," and her anthology on the Collectables label

Chancellor of Soul (harlem_144)5-DoyenUsername: harlem_144

Post Number: 265Registered: 4-2004Posted From: 63.78.189.114

Posted on Monday, October 04, 2004 - 5:34 pm: ��

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Hey Soulaholic, The song ' Baby You Got It' by the Radiants is one of my favorites by them. If you listen closely to the background, the woman doing the high pitch part of 'baaaaaaaaby you goooot it' is no other than the late great Minnie Riperton.

Peace, Mike Boone (Chancellor of Soul)

chancellorofsoul.com

Robb_K (robb_k)6-ZenithUsername: robb_k

Post Number: 585Registered: 4-2004Posted From: 66.81.201.49

Posted on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 4:44 am: ��

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Jan Bradley started recording for her local Chicago manager/producer Don Talty in 1962. Talty wrote most of her songs and produced and ran most of her recordings sessions, except for several A sides with songs written by Curtis Mayfield. On those, Mayfield was active in the sessions. He played guitar on some. Johnny Pate arranged those. The Impressions or Dells sang back-up. Those were most of her better sides: "Christmas Time" on Hootenanny Records; "Behind The Curtains", on Formal Records' subsidiary, Night Owl Records; "We Girls" and "Mama Didn't Lie" on Formal. Only "I'm Over You" (Chess)by Talty, came up to those standards. The local Chicago sales of "Mama Didn't Lie" enabled Talty to get Jan a contract with Chess Records (with whom she had several quality releases, starting with mama Didn't Lie). She had a few releases on local Chicago labels later. I'll try to upload a scan of "Mama Didn't Lie" on Formal, after I return to USA. But so far, I haven't been able to compress the files to less than 200K, and the limit is only 50K. I don't know how you all get to upload all those great colour scans, when I can't even get close to the 50K limit. I've lowered my scanning dp to only 100, and my size to 50% of actual labels, and still been way too high in kb. Also, I don't know how to cut the black vinyl parts off (that fall within the rectangle I use to select the portion of the scan.

(Message edited by Robb_K on October 05, 2004)

(Message edited by Robb_K on October 05, 2004)

mike s (mike_s)5-DoyenUsername: mike_s

Post Number: 208Registered: 4-2004Posted From: 195.93.33.7

Posted on Tuesday, October 05, 2004 - 5:43 am: ��

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That Baby Washington track was on a compilation of her Sue singles released by Ace/Kent in the UK in the 90s. Heartaches was probably her best song but I also loved Doodlin'(which was the Bside in the UK, not the US-There He Is). I think Bert Keyes did the great arrangements.

Robb_K What kind of software do you use ? Usually you can do a preview of your scan and click & drag the rectangle in the preview to choose what part to scan. Before saving your newly scanned image you can change the size using the "image size"-option in your photo-editing software. If you choose 400x400 pixels the image will display nicely on the web and usually be small enough (less than 50kb).

Ricky Allen was a bluesy (and later, funky) soul singer who recorded for many of local Chicago producer, Mel London's labels (Age,Tamboo, Chief (Profile?), Bright Star,Four brothers, etc.))His stuff usually had quite a hard edge. I'll post a scan of the original "Cut You-A-Loose on AGE, when I return.

I think "That's How heartaches Are Made", It'll Never Be over For Me", I Can't Wait to See My Baby's Face" are better Sue cuts by Baby Washington (and also "The Clock" is better), but I guess that's just a matter of taste.

The Constellations were a great, underappreciated local Chicago group in the early-mid and late mid sixties. I always wondered whether that apparant East Coast (NY?) production on Sonday Records was the same group, or a different, East coast group. Does anyone here know for sure? Richard Rome worked out of NY. Dionne Warwick produced it (probably in NYC). But Guy Draper also worked with several Chicago groups in the mid-late sixties. I would guess that it's the same Chicago group, taken to NY to record.

"Baby You've Got It" was made to feature (and give a hard sell to) Maurice McAlister's unique voice. So the group was billed as Maurice and The Radiants. Like their other earlier Chess records, it was produced by Billy Davis, and arranged by Phil Wright.

Those '70s records are already to late for me to know anything about.

I'd like to know more about The Sweettarts on Vandan. I hope someone can provide information on them. I know one of their songs was popular on the Northern Soul Scene during the '70s. I think I have a record by them, with that spelling, but on a different label. I have a fw Vandan records from 1960-61. i find it hard to believe that local East coast label was operating continuously through 1966. Perhaps the label owner resurrected that label name in the mid '60s? Or maybe the record listed above was a Northern Soul bootleg issue, with a "made-up" label name. Simon Soussant and some other Northern Soul dealers obtained tapes, acetates or pressed records, and then had commercial copies pressed up on "new" labels (some whose label names had been formerly used). Perhaps the Sweettarts on Vandan is one of those?

Davie Gordon (davie_gordon)5-DoyenUsername: davie_gordon

Post Number: 249Registered: 4-2004Posted From: 81.157.119.30

Posted on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 4:56 pm: ��

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Robb, I'll admit seeing the Sweettarts name caused raised eyebrows here - haven't heard the record but I can tell you they're definitely a Texan band - better known to garage / psychedleic collectors for their second single which was issued in 1968 on Sonobeat (a local label that had Johnny Winter on their books).

I think you may be confusing Vandan with some other label - it was always Texan. The label was active from around '63 to '67, the nearest they got to a hit was "Wine, Wine,Wine" by The Nitecaps - trust me, you'd hate it.

The label details I supplied are legit - I'm now curious to hear the track although I long ago gave up being surprised at what gets played on the Northern scene.

Davie

Robb_K (robb_k)6-ZenithUsername: robb_k

Post Number: 593Registered: 4-2004Posted From: 66.81.21.252

Posted on Wednesday, October 06, 2004 - 9:03 pm: ��

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Thanks for the information Davie. I have "Wine, Wine Wine" by the Nitecaps. For some reason, I always thought it was from 1961, and was a Philadelphia label. It probably came from another collector telling me the label was from Philadelphia. In the old days, before fanzines, there was a lot of speculation. I got most of my "information" from semi-educated guesswork and "hearsay" from other collectors. I didn't read books about soul music, didn't interview DJs or label owners. I did deal with some inside people when I worked in The Business, but never really took the time to ask them historical questions. So, I am finding now, that a lot of the "information" I got from "expert collectors" had just come from hearsay and supposition, and some of it was inaccurate. Also, some of my "educated surmising" was way off.

BJL (bjl)3-PunditUsername: bjl

Post Number: 70Registered: 5-2004Posted From: 217.205.87.151

Posted on Thursday, October 07, 2004 - 6:50 am: ��

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Ricky Allen retired from music around 1974 but his career has reactivated recently, thanks mainly to the excellent Swedish blues magazine "Jefferson" (the oldest blues magazine in the world) who tracked him down and wrote a lengthy story on him (partly archived at http://www.jeffersonbluesmag.c om/arkiv/ricky_allen.htm)

He's toured and recorded over there and according to friends who've seen him, he still puts over a good show.

Mark Speck (mark_speck)5-DoyenUsername: mark_speck

Post Number: 232Registered: 4-2004Posted From: 63.188.137.93

Posted on Saturday, October 09, 2004 - 9:30 am: ��

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I'm surmising that the Chicago Constellations were the ones that recorded for Smash.

I further surmise that they are probably not the same group as the one that recorded for Sonday. However, I believe that the Sonday group was probably the same as the one that recorded for Gemini Star (the Gemini Star group worked with New York luminaries like Richard Tee and Pat Jaques).

Best,

Mark

Davie Gordon (davie_gordon)5-DoyenUsername: davie_gordon

Post Number: 255Registered: 4-2004Posted From: 81.157.119.14

Posted on Saturday, October 09, 2004 - 10:32 am: ��

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Mark, I'm inclined to agree with you - the Smash single's a good four years before the Gemini Star singles - but for one nagging doubt - one of the few other singles on Gemini Star was by the Norfleet Cousins who are known to have been from Chicago. The Constellations' singles on Gemini Star certainly look like NY records.

Soulaholic, if you have the Sonday single would you mind posting the writer / producer credits - I'd like to see if we can sort this one out.

And while we're on the subject of Gemini Star can anyone supply writer / producer credits and matrix numbers for the Lorraine Randolph and Norfleet Cousins singles on Gemini Star.

Davie

Robb_K (robb_k)6-ZenithUsername: robb_k

Post Number: 599Registered: 4-2004Posted From: 66.81.177.121

Posted on Saturday, October 09, 2004 - 12:23 pm: ��

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Davie, the Sonday single was produced by Dionne Warwick. I believe it was a NY produced record. I'm still away from my 45s for another few weeks, so I can't look up the writers. Wait a minute! I seem to remember Guy Draper involved as co-producer. Maybe he wrote it, as well. He was involved with several Chicago groups, working with Curtis Mayfield on various labels, and Chicago artists on ABC and some other labels. So, maybe it WAS the Chicago Constellations, with a NY connection. The Smash group was definately the Chicago group. They performed locally, and I believe I remember them performing "Doo Doo Da Dem" locally. The Constellat